


Five Days

by starsaligns



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Babysitting, De-aging, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-15
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-23 00:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3748951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsaligns/pseuds/starsaligns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Due to some unforeseen circumstances while messing around with the Atom suit, Roy and Thea accidentally are changed into children. The only emergency contact they both have are Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> his is a prompt given to me by oliversjonas on Tumblr. Purely crack. Purely gold. I know that in the comics, there is no reversal for Ray to turn back to his real age when he does de-age because of the suit, but I’m taking certain liberties with this. Also, this hasn’t been beta’d.

He doesn’t question how Ray Palmer still has his number, but when he hears the frantic and erratic medical terms coming from Dr. Caitlin Snow from STAR Laboratories, he doesn’t question the reason why Ray Palmer and Caitlin Snow would be calling him. He doesn’t say anything further when she tells him that something’s happened to both his sister and her boyfriend when they’re on a mission for him in Central City; and he doesn’t say a word after he tells Diggle and Lyla that they’ll be watching over Starling for a little bit while he’s in Central to collect Thea and Roy. He doesn’t question why Felicity would want to go with him, chalking it up to her older sister/little brother relationship that she has with the kid (and finding out that she, other than Thea, is one of his emergency contacts has something to do with it), and buys a ticket for the blonde to stay with him for the train ride.

What he doesn’t expect is to see his sister–or a version of his baby sister, he still doesn’t know–at four years old, running around even faster than The Flash can keep up with her and getting into the medical supplies, and a five year old version of Roy Harper hiding underneath a table with Cisco Ramon and Sara Lance trying to coax him out with a lollipop.

“You look like my mommy”, the little girl speaks out and he has to take a step back because even he forgot how much Thea was a firecracker and such a speedy little girl when she was younger. “But you also look like my daddy too. Are you my uncle? Are we related? Did you bring me a present?”

And just like that, she’s gone again with Barry trying to catch up with her.

His blue eyes blink in adamant confusion and a need for an explanation at Caitlin and Ray and they’re holding out their hands in surrender. He wants answers and he’s even sure Felicity is looking at the scene like what the hell is going on, but he can hear her heels clack away and go towards Cisco and Sara to help them out with Roy.

“They got into the ATOM suit”, Ray starts out and Caitlin continues with some other scientific jargon that he doesn’t understand; and as if sensing his frustration and confusion, she starts to sputter out everything in Layman’s terms. “Basically, Oliver, they messed with the ATOM suit and a few new things that we haven’t tested and a combination of buttons started messing with their DNA. They turned into children and are going to stay children until we figure out a way to reverse this.”

The only thing he gets from that whole spiel is the fact that it is reversible and he’s thankful for it. The downside would be that he’d have to stay in Central for the while they come up with the antidote and if Thea or Roy would be affected by this at all.

Caitlin is hopeful that they’ll never remember what happens during this time, but Oliver is not so sure.

“We’ll think of something”, she assures him. “The only problem we have is that I need blood samples and Roy won’t come out from under the table and Thea won’t sit still enough for us to do so.”

“She’s Speedy for a reason, Dr. Snow”, Oliver quips up proudly before turning his attention to lock with Felicity. Their silent communications fill the room and she confirms that they’ll get through this like they always have–together.

\-----

Blue eyes are looking right into green for the moment and she’s recognized that look in little five year old Roy Harper’s face as fear and abandonment. She gets the spiel from Cisco and Sara with tidbits here and there from listening to Ray and Caitlin talk to Oliver that something’s happened to them that might or might not be reversible, and her heart starts to ache more or less for the damage that might be inflicted all parties. She sighs out, whispering things to Sara and Cisco like how long has this happened for and what are the sequential buttons that they duo had pressed on and even she can’t figure out something other than to press the buttons backwards (but no really, how stupid would that scenario be?)

“He’s been in here since he woke up and we can’t get him to come out”, Sara tells her, a low tone to her voice and even a little bit of regret considering she and Roy didn’t have much of a relationship before the White Canary went on her little vacation–but Cisco’s taking it harder since they were actually friends who texted back and forth.

Not that she regularly knew that but a few glimpses at Roy’s phone while in passing and Cisco’s name in the notifications bar is enough to put two and two together.

“Come on bro”, he’s practically almost begging. “It’s cherry and everyone loves cherry, right?”

And even at five years old, Roy’s signature ‘what the fuck’ glare is pretty damn intimidating and she just shrugs Cisco and Sara away with one of her ‘leave this to me’ smiles. “Cisco and Sara just wanted to make sure that you were okay”, she says to the kid and sits down beside him, of course outside from underneath the table. 

“Where’s my mom?”

And she lets out a small sigh, licking her lips considering she anticipated this answer. She didn’t know much of Roy’s family, but knew that his father had died when he was young and his mother was barely around when she told him that her father left her and her mother when she was around six years old as well. “She’s at work. She sent me here to come get you.”

And even then Roy lets out a laugh, but it gets him eased up. “The last babysitter I had watched me for 5 days.”

“Maybe we can have so much more fun than you had in 5 days with me more than your last one, huh”, she offers out, holding out her right hand for him to show that she meant peace. She knew enough about children to be able to take baby steps with them. Roy just looks from her hand to her face before taking it and coming out of the table. “I’m Roy. What’s your name?”

“Felicity. Nice to meet you, Roy”, she replies to him with a smile before he brings up his arms in a silent question to be picked up and she remembers his little confession that he liked being carried around by his mom whenever something bad happened. And she happily obliges him while bending her knees and looping her arms around his legs and picking him up with ease. “Nice to meet you too, Felicity.”

She walks over to Oliver trying to reign in his sister with Roy situated on her hip and eating the lollipop that Cisco’s given to him; and the sight keeps her in awe. She lets out a scoff when The Flash and The Arrow are begging a four year old child to slow down enough to get her blood drawn and a laugh when they ultimately fail.

“She’s fast”, Roy whispers out and is leaning his head against her shoulder while she nods her head and agrees. “No wonder Oliver calls her Speedy, right?”

“Is that her name? Speedy?”

Felicity shakes her head and Oliver tilts his while the rest of the STAR Labs team, plus Sara and Ray, are actually trying to get the little girl to cooperate with them before she walks over towards them. “She not cooperating”, Felicity starts out and Oliver shakes his head while pressing his lips together. “No Felicity”, he lets out amused and Roy just snuggles deeper into Felicity’s frame. He’s eying Oliver warily, and Felicity just holds onto him tighter while rubbing a hand against his back. “I forgot how much she was at this age. Even at fourteen, I could barely keep up with her.”

“What did you guys end up doing back then?”

And Oliver sighs, turning his head back to the five grown adults running against the laughing four year old before he gets an idea. To the thought, he tilts his head and blue eyes turn into amusement before he actually intercepts the four year old and catches her in his arms, the giggling never subsiding. “You caught me”, she yells out and claps her hand. “Just like Daddy does! Where is Mommy and Daddy? And Ollie? Do you know Ollie?”

Oliver lets out a low laugh, remembering how he even got the nickname. Thea was never able to pronounce Oliver until the age of seven, but by then the nickname had already stuck and Tommy’s incessant teasing turned into something endearing. “I do know Ollie”, he tells her in a low whisper. “But your mommy and daddy are gone and Ollie’s at school, so you’re kinda stuck with Uncle Jonas for a few days, okay?”

“Yay! Uncle Jonas”, Thea enthusiastically yells out and the others are panting and laughing at the ridiculous name he let out–sans Felicity, of course. He sighs loudly, mostly because he doesn’t know what to do anymore in this situation and tilts his head towards Caitlin. “So, the tests?”

And the brunette doctor just springs to work, but all that goes through Oliver’s mind is how he’s going to be able to do this for the next couple of days.


	2. Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to some unforeseen circumstances while messing around with the Atom suit, Roy and Thea accidentally are changed into children. When Oliver and Felicity are called to pick them up and take them away, complications arise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the great feedback for the last chapter. You’re all completely amazing and I’m in tears. This is just a continuation of what happened last chapter. So this is continuing the first day they’re with the kids.

The expectations after Thea and Roy get their blood drawn are low enough to have Felicity quaking in semi-justifiable horror. Roy’s fear of needles evidently started way before the age of five, and she had to be the one to calm him down and let him cry into her stomach while Caitlin pricked the needle into his arm to draw blood as quick as she possibly could. Thea, on the other hand, had only cried because Roy did, and that the needle had made her bleed was really, really pointy.

Neither Oliver and Felicity figure that both children would exhaust themselves from crying and fall asleep in the cab ride over to the hotel they would be staying at until this situation is fixed.

Roy refuses to leave Felicity’s side and Oliver doesn’t understand why because he would have been happy to help lighten Felicity’s load of the five year old and her things; but the blonde says it’s fine and holds onto the kid just a little bit tighter than usual and there’s something there that he can’t quite pinpoint. Even then, if he kept his attention off Thea for more than one second, she’d probably disappear from him and he realizes why his mother and father had kept such an eye on her and told him and Tommy to do the same.

“We can place them on the same bed, Oliver”, Felicity is the one that speaks out when he realizes that they only have a two bedroom suite. “They’re only napping and we’ll figure something out when it comes down to bedtime, for real.”

And that’s when they turn their attention towards each other, laying their respective children onto the bed for their nap, and matching expressions of both confusion and terror cross in their eyes. How are they going to figure out bedtime and even worse--bath time?

They stay for just a few moments, looking at the children and making sure they’re comfortable before walking back out of the bedroom they were in. “We’re going to need to pick up a few things”, Felicity mumbles out quietly when she closes the door, even going as far as to cracking it slightly just in case they were needed when one of them wakes up. “Toothbrushes, clothes--we were lucky that the suit shrunk their clothes with them, but kids are dirty.”

Oliver brings his hands up to his face, rubbing his eyes in frustration and exhaustion. He’s overthinking, sure, about the complications of what’s happening and yeah, he’s silently blaming himself that this happened to both Roy and Thea while under his watch, but it’s what honestly he can and can’t do at this point. Right now, all he can do is take all of this in and listen.

“And how are we going to entertain them? They’re kids. We can’t just stick them in front of a TV and hope it all works out”, he hears Felicity go on and lets out a hum in agreement, but offers nothing to remedy the situation. He’s defeated, yes, and his frame while sitting down on the couch that’s in the common area of the suite is everything to allude to that; but Felicity’s continuing to list out all of the things that they need to be able to make it through.

Oddly enough, he’s finding complete comfort in them.

He rests his elbows on his knees, bringing his hands away from his face and clasps them together. It’s a nervous tick, something to do in order to be able to keep himself calm and in control because all of this is going way over his head. He’s been okay with children before, but that’s because they were at least twelve. How’s he supposed to be able to handle this?

How are they supposed to be able to handle this?

“You seem calm”, Felicity speaks out and lays a hand on his shoulder which he brings his opposite hand to rest on out of instinct. “I’m not”, is what he confesses, his tone of voice graveling with worry and concern. It’s that usual deep when he’s at a loss of what to do, when he’s laced with fear for what’s to come; but it’s irrational. He’s dealt with Malcolm Merlyn, Slade Wilson and his mirakuru men, and fought off with Ra’s al Ghul twice.

He should be able to deal with two little children.

“I’m scared, Felicity”, he starts out. “I’m scared that Thea and Roy are going to be stuck like this, maybe get hurt. They can’t protective themselves and Thea”, there’s a slight pause from when he leans back and Felicity’s hand kneads into his shoulder to try to get him to relax a bit and he does--just slightly. “We gave her the nickname Speedy for a reason. She used to get away from Raisa and Mom while they were out.”

And Felicity’s lip tugs just slightly into a small smile, her actions never relenting and goading him to continue. It’s rare that he’s able to open up like this, be able to talk about things before and during his personal hell, and the blonde made a promise to herself to let the moments go on as long as they could without interruption.

A sigh escapes him then and he turns his blue eyes right up to her own while she shrugs her shoulders. “You’ve dealt with Malcolm Merlyn”, she starts to speak, a whisper so they’d won’t be able to wake the kids. Her frame now sits behind him on the back of the couch, one leg holding her up while she leans to the piece of furniture so he’s able to lean his head back against her lap if he wanted. “Fought off Slade Wilson, and The Demon Head from the Himalayas. You’ll be able to handle two little kids because I know that you can and I believe in you.”

There’s a slight comfortable silence between them, more communication that’s able to only be transmitted by looks because she’s right and if the past is any indication, Felicity would be able to help him get through this and they’ll be able to do it together.

It’s only broken when a tired, hands rubbing eyes Roy comes out of the room and speaks. “Thea’s crying and asking for her mom.”

\-----------

After Oliver calms down Thea and says that they can’t call her parents because they’re away and out of the country and he tells Roy that it happens all the time when he asks how they’re able to do that, the two children are settled in front of the television watching the latest Spongebob Squarepants cartoon. “It’s going to rot their brains”, Felicity mumbles out, but she can’t seem to tear herself away from the yellow and pink duo along with the kids to do anything about it. Oliver bites back a smile, but he agrees. It’s still early enough for them all to get out of the hotel room and to be able to do something but late enough that they can’t stay out for long until it’s dinner time.

He figures the nearest Big Belly Burger with a playground would be able to kill two birds with one stone; but he’s met with groans from the children when he offers the suggestion. “I don’t want a burger”, Thea’s the first to tell the adults no. “I want rava...rava...”, she pauses to find the word, but Roy offers it and she claps a thank you towards him. “Ravaoli. That’s it. Is there somewhere we can get ravaoli?”

Oliver looks to Roy and all he gets is a shrug in return, a signal that he’s okay with anything that they were going to give him and he turns to Felicity now. The hotel room doesn’t have a kitchen where they’d be able to make what they wanted and grocery shopping with two kids is out of the question when it’s this late. She pauses for a moment before an idea pops into her head and she hands him his phone. “Barry can get us dinner and some pajamas for the kids.”

“Barry’s coming”, Thea asks excitedly and jumps on the sofa to see the phone in Oliver’s hand. “Is he going to bring the ravaoli?” Felicity giggles at Thea’s enthusiasm and nods, even going as far as to poke Thea’s side in the gentlest of motions which earns her a laugh from the younger girl. “Maybe, if your uncle asks nicely”, the blonde speaks out and gives Oliver a small look, trying to play along with the facade he asked of her earlier and he nods. As he makes the call, Felicity goes back to sitting with the kids and Roy climbs into Felicity’s lap as if to stake his claim.

“Are you and Uncle Jonas married”, Thea asks her and Roy looks at Felicity’s left hand tentatively. “No”, he answers Thea’s question and shows her the blonde’s hand. “She doesn’t have a ring. Everyone who is married has a ring. My mom doesn’t wear hers anymore since my dad died.”

Felicity stays quiet, watching the two interact and Oliver’s off his phone call and sitting beside them all. Thea nuzzles into the crook between both Felicity and Oliver. “How did that happen”, Oliver asks Roy and it takes him a little while to speak, and that’s only after he chooses to sink himself further into Felicity’s frame before mumbling that his dad was sick and they didn’t have money to get him help.

He grimaces, but Felicity rubs Roy’s back gently to soothe his pain and just when they’re falling back into a comfortable ease, there’s a knock on the door and Barry zooms in.

“I got food and I got clothes”, he says as he holds up both of his hands and starts setting up, going right for his speed and forgetting that they had two sets of eyes that hadn’t known about superpowers. But the kids are vastly enamored with it. Thea’s yelling for Barry to do it again and Roy’s all but broken away from Felicity to talk to Barry about superheroes. “Well”, Oliver sighs and turns his attention to Felicity, hands falling behind him and he sways in his stance. “At least we know Barry’s good with kids.”

“Oliver Queen, are you jealous”, Felicity asks, her tone of voice whispering but there’s amusement to her tone. And he just lets out one soft smile while laying a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you convince Barry to stay for bath time and I’ll get dinner ready for all of us? He seems a bit preoccupied with two little kids wanting to take a ride on his legs.” All it takes is Oliver’s nod to his head towards his left, indicating Barry’s legs now had two wrapped children around them and holding him back while he’s making strangled noises.

“Great”, Felicity all but starts out. “Three children we have to keep entertained.”

Oliver laughs for the first time that night.


End file.
